Fish market waits for building

The place where the fish market is supposed to come up in Berhampur. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, Sept. 4: A 50-year-old fish mart in the Giri Market complex that was damaged in the 1999 super cyclone will be re-constructed within six months.

Work on the mart has already begun, said Asim Mishra, executive engineer, Berhampur Municipal Corporation. “We are building a large hall for Rs 55 lakh to accommodate all the fish sellers. The hall might be air-conditioned later,” Mishra said.

More than 150 people come from various places near Berhampur, such as Surala, Sunpur, Nuagaon, Terapentho, Dasapur and Chatrapur, to sell their fish produce here.

As they have no place to sell their fish from, they sit with on Park Street near the damaged fish market.

“The place where they sit to sell the fish is in front of Santapeta Primary School. Both residents of Park Street and school students are disgusted as pungent odour emanates from the fish shops,” said Gyaneswar Sahu, a resident of the area.

“We have requested the civic body to provide them with alternative arrangements and stop selling fish on Park Street. We must see that the place is properly cleaned and proper sanitation is maintained,” he said.

A fish seller agreed with Sahu. “The present fish market is running in a very unhygienic atmosphere,” said Sania Behera, a resident of Raja Sahi. He has been selling fish in the market for 20 years.

Fish sellers Kuntala Behera of Surala and Choti Behera are in the business for the past 25-odd years. Both expressed disgust with the situation.

“We sit in the open and are forced to sell fish under the blazing sun and lashing rain. The corporation has dug holes for the pillars and the situation has turned worse. If we are not provided with alternative space, how will we provide for our families?” Kuntala asked.